Volunteer in Watertown, May 10

Our Charles River clean up on Earth Day was cold and wet but not miserable. Hopefully, the volunteers will have better weather on May 10 for the Watertown Clean up sponsored by the by Watertown Community Foundation — click for details from their website. See also their upcoming forum on May 7th about health aging.

Local officials regulate dogs and kennels.

Because Belmont has been considering a new animal control law, I’ve been receiving some state law questions. State law vests authority for regulation of animals with local officials. General Laws, Chapter 140, sections 136A through 172 defines local authority over both kennels and individual dogs. Here are a few relevant sections. Section 136A defines terms, …

Congestion near Fresh Pond Parkway

The following statement was released jointly by State Senator Will Brownsberger, State Senator Pat Jehlen, Representative Jon Hecht and Representative Dave Rogers. Update 2/11/2016: Contract Awarded If you commute inbound from Belmont, Watertown or West Cambridge, there is one problem you always have to solve — how to get past the congestion on Fresh Pond …

Waverley Square Bus Service During Construction

From the Belmont Town Engineer, Glenn Clancy, in response to the question of where to get on the bus during the next couple of months of construction in Waverley Square. Church Street will be temporarily a one way from Trapelo Road to Lexington Street. Buses will enter Church from Trapelo Road, pull down Church Street …

Remote Participation for Disability Commissions

Last week the Senate passed legislation, which I sponsored, to allow disability commissions to authorize remote participation by their members. This required a modification to the open meeting law. The text of the bill was modified by the Committee on State Administration before passage by the Senate. The key language appears below: A local commission …